Hi everyone!! I'm glad I get this opportunity to share with everyone a little bit about myself. Obviously my name is Sue and in my real life, I am a Nursing Home Administrator and a part-time group fitness instructor at a local gym. I was a chronic nail biter my whole life until I got a gift certificate to a local salon for a manicure and I tried gel polish. I started to get the gel manicures every two weeks until my nails grew out and I couldn't believe what I had been missing out on. Since the gel was so expensive ($50 back then), I researched purchasing my own equipment and started doing it at home on my own. I started to mix gel and regular polish and doing nail art and wondered if there was a way to document what I was doing with photos. I googled "how to start a blog" and the rest is history.

People are amazed to know that I had never looked at a single blog before that google search. I didn't even know such a thing existed. When I was setting up my blog using the Blogger template, it asked me for a name and I kept it simple. I love nail design, wanted to be creative and I just added my name in to make it mine. That was more than two years ago and I have not lost interest since.

My blog is very simple. With my day job, I can sometimes work long hours and I spend quite a bit of time at the gym so I don't have as much time to dedicate to blogging. The amount of time I spend on my blog varies greatly. Sometimes its two hours a week and sometimes six or seven. You will find that I generally only have one photo and I usually am brief in my narrative. My goal ultimately is to chronicle my life with nail art and I know that this appeals to some who may be short on time. For that reason, I find that I tend to prefer using Facebook and Instagram because it offers a snapshot and I also love how easy it is to comment quickly without some of the obstacles that blogs present.

The posts that I find are most popular (aside from my Digital Dozen posts) are the ones that can easily be found on a Goggle search. So when someone is searching for Olympic nails or various movie titles, they might find me fairly easily. There was a time when I participated in three nail challenges at one time but I have slowed up on that because I decided that what I enjoy most is just doing art when something inspires me. I wish I had more time so I could improve on my skills. I would love to take a class on shading since this is a weakness for me and I want to be better. Although here is an old picture from when I first started and I think I have improved a bit since then.

When I think back about my earliest polish memories, they are all about my mom. She has perfect nails. They have always been perfect, healthy looking and strong. I never had any so I wasn't really that into polish. She had more than me. Can't say that is the same today. She still has a decent size polish stash of her own but it pales in comparison to mine now. I have space on two homemade shelves for 1,000. Interested in a peek? Have a look.........

I would love to say that my workspace was this organized but it isn't. I do my nails on the couch with my polish/art stuff crammed onto a small end stand. I have various divided caddies (from Bed, Bath and Beyond) that hold my supplies. That's where I am most comfortable and the pugs can supervise, which makes them happy.

I have so many polishes that I love and wouldn't want to do without but if I had to pick my current top five...
Zoya Aurora
OPI Over & Over A-Gwen
Illamasqua Jo'Mina
Cult Nails Nevermore
ManGlaze Fatty's Got More Blood

It is really hard to pick a favorite brand. As you could see by my video the brands that make up a significant portion of my stash are Zoya and OPI. If I was going to grab a polish that I knew would wear well with no chips or peeling, I would grab a Zoya. I think that is just a matter of chemistry because others can't say the same about the brand. I just know it works well with my nails. If I am looking for a matte finish, no brainer, it will always be a ManGlaze. If I know I can't change polish for more than a few days, I always reach for an OPI Liquid Sand.

Nail care? I don't do it. Ever. I file nails when they break or when I feel something catching on my clothes or hair. I never soak, never push back cuticles or clip them. I never use base coats or nail strengthners. I use Dior Creme Abricot when my cuticles get really dry. It's pricey but goes a long way with just a speck. The bottom line is that I do enough to make them presentable but I spend every moment I have on the art itself. I wish I had more time to invest in nail care because I follow people that have amazing nails. I find myself drawn to bloggers that have thin square nails. I love @nailz_craze, @kimiko7878, @didoline on instagram to name a few.

My favorite theme that we have done so far with The Digital Dozen has definitely been Book Week. I thought I would hate it because I never read but a quick online search led me to children's books and it ended up being a lot of fun. I have had people tag me when they recreate something I have done and I love it!! It really makes me feel good that I inspired them in some way and I am even happier to see them do it better. I think it is important for everyone in the community to see the value in supporting others. Even if I take a small piece of someone's design or if something they did just inspires me, I credit the artist. I think that the competitive side in people makes them want to have an edge but ultimately giving credit to another blogger will make you more respected and ultimately will serve you better.

I can honestly say that my proudest nail blogging achievement was starting one and sticking to it. People get burned out easily when blogging and it's important to not overextend yourself and to stay true to your goals. Just do what you love or it becomes a job and maybe one that you will no longer want to participate in.

So, you will notice that I tend to lean towards designs that go across multiple nails. For this reason, my polish besties call me the Queen of the split canvas. Anytime I can try and use multiple nails to freehand an image, I am up for the challenge. I just think it adds a layer of interest and it takes planning to get things to line up and to do it in a way that flows naturally on my nails. Sometimes it's as simple as writing letters to form a word or phrase across multiple nails......

Other times the entire image connects two, three or even four nails together.....

Of course I can't resist a good dog themed manicure. I wanted to do a pug but just couldn't master that little curly tail......

You will even find me attempting this technique during the holidays......

And, an attempt at recreating a real masterpiece....

Or a vintage favorite..........

I hope you all enjoyed reading a little bit about me. I always enjoy reading bios about other bloggers because I am interested in the person behind the blog. Maybe I gave you even the tiniest bit of inspiration or at least enjoyment seeing some of my mani's. Have you done any split canvas designs? Tag me on Instagram at @creativenaildesignbysue. I would love to see what you come up with. Maybe you will inspire me to recreate your design.

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About The Digit-al Dozen

The Digit-al Dozen is a small but diverse nail art group which posts nail art once a month, for 5 days. We currently have 23 amazing bloggers in the group and have no plans to grow larger than this.

Although we aren't currently accepting new members, please visit our " Can I Join?" section to stay up to date.

You can expect to see original content on this blog as well as behind the scenes/outtakes of some of our past themes. We will also be sharing tutorials, tips and tricks and so much more!

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